Join us for an insightful episode as Donald Trump takes the oath of office in the heart of the nation’s capital. Despite the chilly weather, thousands gathered to witness history unfold. We delve deep into the events of the day, discussing the president’s swift actions and executive orders, aimed at ushering in a new era of governance grounded in common sense.
SPEAKER 08 :
from the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
SPEAKER 04 :
I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear… I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear… That I will faithfully execute… That I will faithfully execute… The office of President of the United States… The office of President of the United States… And will, to the best of my ability… and will to the best of my ability. Preserve, protect and defend. Preserve, protect and defend. The Constitution of the United States. The Constitution of the United States. So help me God. So help me God. Congratulations.
SPEAKER 06 :
That was President Donald Trump taking the oath of office earlier today in the Capitol Rotunda. Welcome to Washington Watch. Thank you for tuning in on this Monday. Well, despite the cold, tens of thousands came to Washington, D.C. to witness history. We’ll talk about it with Congressman Robert Adderholt of Alabama in just a moment. Before today’s inauguration, Family Research Council partnered with Dr. Jim Garlow and Wellverse to host an inauguration praise and prayer convocation.
SPEAKER 15 :
This is not an inter-religious service. We will not be praying to Allah or Buddha. We’ll be praying to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
SPEAKER 06 :
It was a deeply moving service and I’ll share some highlights with you a little bit later. Well, President Trump is wasting no time in getting to work.
SPEAKER 05 :
Today, I will sign a series of historic executive orders. With these actions, we will begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense. It’s all about common sense.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, we’re looking forward to a little common sense. He’s issuing a flurry of executive orders covering topics from the border to climate policy, the federal workforce, and transgender issues. Chris Gacig, Senior Fellow for Regulatory Affairs at the Family Research Council, will join us with the details.
SPEAKER 10 :
Also, since the October 7th massacre, our mission has been clear. Bring home all the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Today, as part of these ongoing efforts, we welcomed home three hostages, three young women after 471 days in Hamas captivity.
SPEAKER 06 :
That was IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari yesterday. We’ll check in with Chris Mitchell, CBN’s Middle East Bureau Chief, for the latest updates from Israel. Stay tuned for today’s Washington Watch. A lot ahead. Let me encourage you, if you’ve not yet downloaded the StandFirm app, to download the StandFirm app. There’s actually a couple of very important things. Resources there for you are 100-Day Tracker. It’s a 100-day toolkit. It will help you keep up with and pray into the changes promised by President Donald Trump on the campaign trail. You can track that. We can give you daily updates. Also being released next month, we have the first installment out, is God and Government. What does the Bible have to say about government? You can find out more about that at the Stand Firm app. Go to the App Store. Simply download the StandFirm app. As mentioned, Donald Trump was sworn in today as the 47th president of the United States, making him officially the second U.S. president to serve non-consecutive terms. In his inaugural address, President Trump said, quote, the golden age of America begins right now, end quote. He also shared his priorities with the American people. Joining me now to discuss this and more is Congressman Robert Adderholt, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. He serves Alabama’s 4th Congressional District. Congressman Adderholt, welcome to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 02 :
Tony, good to be with you. Thanks for having me on.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, thanks for taking time to join us. Busy, busy day in Washington, D.C., a lot of activities. Your thoughts on today’s inauguration ceremony?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, it was a great day. Just I was honored to have a chance to actually be in the rotunda there. As you know, plans changed drastically after, I guess it was Friday when they decided to move inside. So a lot of the folks I know that was hoping to be there, but I think most people understood between the weather and what all was going on in Washington that the We needed to make sure everybody was safe, and it was the call by the president, but obviously all the Congress was there, the House and the Senate, and we were there to see it, and just a lot of energy in the air, and we’re just very excited to be there.
SPEAKER 06 :
And there were a lot of folks that came to D.C. despite the weather. In fact, it moved the indoor gathering at the Capital One Arena just across from the FRC headquarters here in D.C. They were lining up last night, could not wait to get in, even out there in the cold. So a lot of enthusiasm. What was it like there in the rotunda?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, no, there was a lot of energy. Of course, obviously, a lot of Democrats didn’t come. Probably most of the members there were Republicans, but you did have a lot of Democrats that were there. But there was a lot of energy in the room. And just hear the president just beginning of a new day. It was really what I’m how to best describe it, because we felt like we’re starting a new morning. Things are looking very positive. We’re starting with a from a position of security. And so that’s. I just, you know, it was just great being in the room and seeing the president and hearing him take the oath of office, seeing him right there. So, yeah, just really, I think everyone felt better after he was commander in chief.
SPEAKER 06 :
So, Congressman Adderhall, after he made his speech, kind of laying out his plans, what he wants to see America do and become, what were your major takeaways?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, obviously, I think one of the things that was very obvious that border security is going to be a number one priority in this administration. And, you know, and also it was just very great to see him, the strength of the international community. of seeing that we, that the United States is going to project now and not only project, but also be in strength around the world. And I think that’s one of the things that’s been lacking because we’ve so much been, the United States of America has not had the respect that we’ve really needed. And we are the, And militarily, economically, we’re number one around the world. And I think it’s important that we stand strong for democracy. And I think people feel better that now with Donald Trump in that role, that that will definitely be the case.
SPEAKER 06 :
I know when these types of gatherings take place, everybody’s going to kind of be there and kind of waiting, milling around before the actual event takes place. There’s a lot of time for conversations. Can you share a little bit about the conversations you’ve had today with your colleagues and kind of what they’re thinking and just kind of the anticipation that they have?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, you know, it was interesting as I was sitting now next to some of my colleagues there, and this president was making his speech, as you know from listening to his speech yourself, the things that he said he was going to implement. And basically, members of Congress. And I know, uh, around me was saying, saying just under their breath, but you could hear them actually say, thank you. Thank you for standing for a strong border, uh, for, uh, that we’ll have energy freedom, uh, that we will make sure that we are, uh, number one on the world stage, making sure that we put in those common sense practices that are so important that have gone lacking over the last four years. So just really a sense of gratefulness that the president is going to move forward on these policies and that it’s not going to be just talk, but it’s going to he’s doing that. And as you know, putting those signing those executive orders today, he is not wasting time. I had a chance to talk to some of the members of the of his cabinet that he is going to be appointing or has appointed, I guess, is waiting for their confirmation to come through. And they are ready to get to work. And I saw John Ratcliffe and talked to Lee Zeldin. And they’re just very excited about starting to work and to implementing the president’s policies as soon as they get their confirmation.
SPEAKER 06 :
Now, you mentioned the executive orders, and we’re going to talk about those in a moment with Chris Gasek from FRC. But what I did not see in the list of executive orders in this first batch, and we’ll see more this week, that is the Mexico City policy, which has been kind of a ping-pong policy from administration to administration. Democrats You know, rescind it. Republicans generally put it back in place, and that’s simply prohibiting U.S. tax dollars for funding or promoting abortion abroad, getting its name from Ronald Reagan when he did the announcement in Mexico City. Any word on that?
SPEAKER 02 :
No, I’ve not heard an update, but I mean, I would be shocked if that is not within these, one of the first executive orders that comes through. But I was reminded with something that I was so happy that he pointed out, and I’m sure you heard it loud and clear, Tony, was what he said about there were two genders, male and female. And I thought that was very bold. And I think that was very good news for the American people to hear. that, you know, the transgender, that obviously that from that standpoint, that there’s many genders, that that is not something the president is embracing and that we’ll get back to some common sense regarding that. So by him making that statement, I think was tremendous. He didn’t have to make that statement, even though I know he agrees with it. But to agree that there are only two genders and to make that publicly in his speech this afternoon was, I think, a real sign that he’s going to be very serious about it.
SPEAKER 06 :
And I have not read the executive order related to that in the federal workforce, but I’m curious if that replies to our nation’s military, because he rescinded the Obama transgender policy in his last term. I’m wondering if this would also affect the United States military, where they would go back to recognizing just two genders.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, well, I haven’t seen the details either, Tony, but I do think that he’s been very serious and very strong on it by him making this statement today. I think it’s a good sign that he will move forward on that.
SPEAKER 06 :
So, Congressman Adderhall, we just have about a minute and a half left. Biggest challenge going forward, and how do our viewers and listeners need to be praying?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, biggest challenge will be actually, you know, this the House. We only have a very thin majority. So getting these policies through is going to be very difficult. You can have just one or two members. Matter of fact, when as we were getting ready to go out of the chamber this morning into the rotunda, we got the resignation letter from Michael Waltz. that was presented to the speaker that he’s, of course, going for to be the president’s security advisor, national security advisor. So that’s one less member that we have now. So it’s going to be very tough as we move forward on these policies. Of course, even the Senate, even though they will have 53 when everyone is there, it’s still, that’s going to be a close in all respects, but it’s going to be one or two seats majority in the House. So that’s what I see as the most challenging and just everyone getting an agreement because even though Republicans were together, we sometimes don’t always agree on what the best way to move forward.
SPEAKER 06 :
That would be an understatement.
SPEAKER 02 :
Would be an understatement.
SPEAKER 06 :
Robert Adderholt, thanks so much for joining us. Always great to see you.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you. Thanks, Tony. Good to be with you. And God bless and God bless the United States of America.
SPEAKER 06 :
Amen. Congressman Robert Adderholt of Alabama. And a lot of these executive orders that the president is doing are good, but we want to take this moment to put them into statute so that they cannot be rescinded by the next administration. So Robert’s point, we need to be getting these things through Congress. All right. After the break, I’ll share with you a little bit about last night’s presidential inauguration prayer event.
SPEAKER 09 :
During these challenging times for our nation, Family Research Council continues to serve as a watchman on the wall for faith, family, and freedom. And together, thanks to your support, we’re making an eternal impact. 2024 has been another year of shining the light for biblical truth in Washington, D.C. This fall, over 1,000 spiritually active, governance-engaged conservatives gathered for the Pray, Vote, Stand Summit to pray for our nation and ensure that the issues impacting sage cons were understood and advanced. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins parked a major milestone this year, its 900th episode, and added the Washington Watch News Desk, a new production that presents the top news each day from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand published 2,000 articles of news, commentary, and podcasts in 2024, garnering over 5 million views. FRC’s outlet for news and commentary continues to pursue the truth on the issues that matter most to you and your family. And with the launch of the Stand Firm app, you can listen to, watch, and read our content in one simple place. Pray for current issues, stay rooted in the scriptures, and engage the political sphere, the community of believers on our new platform. In 2024, FRC shaped public policy and culture, organizing the National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance, where members of Congress and Christian leaders came together to seek God’s intervention in America. In May, FRC called upon believers to pray for and stand with Israel by dedicating a portion of their worship services to pray for Israel’s peace, prosperity, and protection. With Pray, Vote, Stand Decision 2024, FRC and Real Life Network led a powerful evening of election night coverage to analyze the election results and pray that our nation would turn back to God. We also filmed a transformative educational course, God and Government, Launching in January 2025, this series will explore the biblical and historical foundations of our government, empowering you to stand confidently in your role as a citizen of heaven and earth. Family Research Council thanks you for partnering with us for another year of standing for faith, family, and freedom.
SPEAKER 12 :
Looking to grow closer to God in the new year? FRC’s Stand on the Word spiral-bound journal is here to help. Dive deeper into Scripture with thought-provoking questions, note-taking space, and context for each book and author. This second edition, covering Isaiah 2 Revelation, will guide you in tracking your journey through God’s Word while deepening your faith in Christ. Order now at frc.org slash store or text journal to 67742. Perfect for you and your loved ones.
SPEAKER 06 :
Welcome back to this Monday edition of Washington Watch. Well, yesterday, ahead of today’s presidential inauguration, Family Research Council hosted an inauguration praise and prayer convocation service to pray for our nation. And if you missed it, you can actually catch it on the Stand Firm app. Go to the app store and download the Stand Firm app. But right now, I’d like to share with you the message that I delivered yesterday at the event. Here’s what the Lord put on my heart. For America to be great again, it must first be moral again. It must first be good again. Tomorrow, as the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump, is inaugurated, our nation will also celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. And as Alveda was praying a moment ago, Dr. King, a pastor, a leader, profoundly influenced the government of our nation through his unwavering commitment to proclaiming truth and pursuing justice. In his sermon, A Knock at Midnight, Dr. King made a powerful statement about the church’s role in society. He said this, he said, quote, the church must be reminded that it is not the master nor the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state and never its tool. The church does not recapture its prophetic zeal. It will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority. God help us to recapture that prophetic zeal. This principle is vividly illustrated in the final recorded exchange of the prophet Elisha with the king of Israel, Joash. In 2 Kings 3, verse 14, it says, Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen. And Elisha said to him, Take a bow and arrows. And he took a bow and arrows. And then he said to the king of Israel, Draw the bow. And he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands. And he said, open the window eastward, and he opened it. Then Elisha said, shoot, and the king shot. And he said, the Lord’s arrows of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria, for you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them. Then the prophet said, take the arrows, and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, strike the ground with them. And he struck three times, and he stopped. Then the man of God was angry. and said you should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck down Syria until you had made the end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times. Although Joash was not a good king, he still recognized and respected the indispensable role of the prophetic voice of the prophet in preserving and prospering the nation because the prophet never compromised God’s truth. In this passage, we see three key actions of that prophetic voice, which the church must recapture today. Number one, he instructs, verse 15, take a bow and arrows. The church must have the clarity and give direction. And that clarity only comes from the word of God. The church must rediscover the word of God. And it must bring it into the public square once again. He guides. Look at verse 16. It says, draw the bow. He drew it. Then Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands. The church must be involved in government. We must be hands on.
SPEAKER 01 :
And then…
SPEAKER 06 :
The prophet never apologizes for the call of God. He corrects, verse 19, then the man of God was angry with him and he said, you should have struck five or six times. What God says is wrong. We cannot politely nod as if it is right. We must speak the truth of God’s word. Amen. For nearly 60 years, Elisha served as a prophet, undoubtedly praying and interceding for the king, even though most of them walked contrary to God and his word. Why? Because that is what God told him to do. That was his mission. And there is a benefit when the prophet walks in his mission and intercedes. The apostle Paul speaks to this issue in 1 Timothy chapter 2. He says, that supplications, prayers, and intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. How many of you want peace? How many want joy and to be able to live in the tranquility of your home? We need godly leaders and we must pray for them. So how does a church today in 2025 recapture this prophetic zeal that Dr. King spoke of? We must stop seeking affirmation from government and stand firm in our identity with Jesus Christ. We cannot speak prophetically to those to whom we’re seeking approval. We do not need the approval of government. We are called as a prophetic voice of God. Elisha did not need Joash’s validation. He knew his master and he knew his mission. Likewise, the church must understand its authority and its purpose rooted in the power and the calling of God. if it is to rediscover its prophetic voice in our time. Church, stand firm in Christ. Pray for our leaders and boldly speak the truth of God. That was from yesterday’s inauguration praise and prayer convocation that FRC co-hosted at the Greater New Hope Baptist Church just around the corner from the Family Research Council, just two blocks from the Capital One Center where large crowds were gathered there as well. And if you missed it, you can catch it all at FRC’s Stand Firm app. Go to the app store, download the Stand Firm app. All right. After the break, we’re going to take a look at some of the executive orders that President Trump is probably signing right now. And so we’re going to talk about that with Chris Gasek on the other side of the break. So don’t go away. A lot more Washington Watch coming up. Stay with us.
SPEAKER 14 :
So if you like to think and you like to pray, FRC is the place for you.
SPEAKER 13 :
I think it is the best program out there.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, I’ve absolutely loved my experience interning at FRC.
SPEAKER 13 :
They really are making waves out in the political world and doing it from the light of the Lord.
SPEAKER 14 :
It’s really humbling for me as a college student who has been involved in the life movement for only a couple of years to be able to witness it alongside of some of the people who have spent their entire lives fighting. A huge thing that sets FRC’s internship apart from others is they are looking for what they can pour into you instead of what they can get out of you.
SPEAKER 13 :
I have talked to so many of my friends who have interned. other places and they’re responding to emails or taking phone calls and doing things like that. But here we get real hands on experience and get to talk to important people and do important things that we get to see the impact of.
SPEAKER 01 :
Research has found that there are 59 million American adults who are a lot like you. There are millions of people around the country who are born again, deeply committed to practicing their faith, and believe the Bible is the reliable Word of God. But that’s not all. They’re also engaged in our government. They’re voters. They’re more likely to be involved in their community, and they’re making a difference in elections. The problem is that a lot of them feel alone, too. We want to change that. FRC wants to connect these 59 million Americans to speak the truth together, no matter the cost. If you want to learn more about this group and what it means to be a spiritually active, governance-engaged conservative, or if you want to find out if you are one of these sage cons yourself, join us. Go to FRC.org slash S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more. That’s S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more.
SPEAKER 06 :
Welcome back to this Monday edition of Washington Watch. Be sure and check out the app for the latest on today’s activities. You can also, in addition to the Washington Watch, you can get the Washington Stand, which is our news feed. You’ll get news and commentary from a biblical perspective, also the Stand on the Word. Go to thestand.com. Go get the Stand Firm app in the App Store. All right, today, President Trump, first day back in office. He’s wasting no time. He’s signing a wave of executive orders aimed at fulfilling key campaign promises, reversing policies from the Biden administration. From declaring a national emergency at the southern border to ending federal DEI programs, these actions mark the beginning of what President Trump calls the complete restoration of America, a return to common sense. Joining me now to unpack some of these, Dr. Chris Gasek, Senior Fellow for Regulatory Affairs here at the Family Research Council. Chris, welcome back to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 07 :
Hi, Tony. How are you doing? Good to be with you. And what a wild day it’s been.
SPEAKER 06 :
It has, and I’m sure it’s only going to get even wilder. Let’s talk about some of the key. There’s a lot of these executive orders. I think they’re going to be rolling out a whole stream of them over the next several days. Let’s hit the ones at the top of the list. What do we have so far?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, what happened this morning was that the president, when he was at the Capitol, signed about four or five. And one had to do with Inauguration Day ceremony and a number of cabinet, sub-cabinet appointees and making appointments and commissions and things like that. So a lot of administrative issues. But right now, just two blocks from here, the president is seated and he’s about to make an address at the Capital One Center. And it looks like the Air Force Band is over there. I mean, it’s a big event with like another 15 to 20,000 people inside. And there’s a sort of, I don’t know if it’s, I don’t think it’s the real one, but there’s an Oval Office lookalike desk sitting there with a chair. And apparently, you know, he’s going to go and sign, you know, maybe a couple dozen or more executive orders and maybe talk about them as he goes through them. So at this point, there’s a bit of, I wouldn’t say conjecture. I think we sort of know what directions they’re going, but we don’t have the actual paper with the words. And we haven’t seen precisely which ones have been done in what order. So I just want to spell that out.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, we’ve been waiting. It was scheduled at right at the top of the hour, but He typically runs a little bit behind. One that, again, we’re working off of titles because we’ve not seen the content of the executive orders. But one, which I mentioned earlier with Congressman Adderhall, was one dealing with the fact that there are two sexes. This is an issue. It’s Title VII, but he says as it applies to federal sexes. personnel. I’m wondering if this is going to reach into the military and into the transgender policy of the Biden administration.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, if we move out of this gender ideology framework and go back to a description of or a use of biological sex, the term sex instead of gender, that’s going to have kind of rolling implicate, you know, it’s going to have a logical effect that’s going to essentially wipe out a lot of policies, even, you know, that’s the way the law works. The law works is if I set a principle in motion, it’s going to work its way through things. And I think that if, depending on how much of a, how many boundaries they put on this, it will do the same sort of thing. Sometimes they take the military out of these, but my sense is that the way President Trump thinks about things, it’s like the military would be the first place he does it.
SPEAKER 06 :
So how does this, how will that mesh with the Supreme Court ruling on the Title VII gender issue?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, I guess they’re going to be, you know, kind of the Bostock decision. It’s going to be interesting. You know, just some immediate points. The Bostock ruling was about a private employer, the government, the federal government may have more leeway with regard to the employees that it has in terms of setting terms and conditions, especially in areas like the military. So, again, you know, one of the things that happens here is that there are issues that have to play out in kind of legal thinking. And remember one thing, until 20 years ago, everything was framed in terms of biological sex. So it wasn’t like we’ve never been in this world before, right? It’s more like the strange new world that the Supreme Court and other institutions have created for us have created these problems. And in a sense, using biological sex again would just be a reset to the, you know, the way things should be.
SPEAKER 06 :
But but as he made very clear, this was a return to common sense. Common sense has not been that common. He’s got executive orders on the border. That’s been the big focus. In fact, there’ll be several dealing with the border. declaring an emergency. No doubt, Chris Gazig, we’re going to see a lot of legal action and there will be suits filed to try to stop the president from moving forward these executive orders. Am I correct?
SPEAKER 07 :
Right. Yes. I think I saw on a Politico flash news item that somebody has already filed to get an injunction against the Doge effort, which is kind of silly because I think the Doge you know, Musk and these people are essentially assistants to Russ Vought in the Office of Management and Budget. I think he can, you know, get people and advisors and things of this sort. I don’t know. That seems, you know, kind of persnickety, but we’ll see what happens. Remember, one of the things about the District of Columbia is that it’s populated with all these leftist district court judges and all these, you know, very leftist appellate court judges. I mean, it’s kind of a rotten burrow up here, as they would use in English politics, right? It’s a company-owned town, and the deep state and the government own the judiciary, except at the Supreme Court level. And there you have a group of conservative lawyers, especially conservative on these administrative state issues.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, they’ve actually ruled on that recently. So that’s going to be interesting. All right, Chris, we’re out of time, but we’re going to come back to you in the next couple of days as we look more at these executive orders. Stick with us, folks. Hello, I’m Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council here in Washington, D.C. Behind me is one of the most recognizable buildings in all the world, the U.S. Capitol. What does it stand for? Well, most people say government. But do you know the Bible talks about four institutions of government? Do you know what they are? And do we have a republic or a democracy? Well, what do you say? Also, what about this thing, separation of church and state? Does that mean Christians shouldn’t be involved in government? Guess what? We address those issues and more in our new God and Government course. I invite you to join us to see what the historical record and the Bible has to say about government. Join us for God and Government.
SPEAKER 11 :
All of us are born with the desire to find truth and meaning. Where did I come from? What happens when I die? While our answers to these questions may divide us, we are united in our need for the freedom to answer life’s biggest questions and make life’s biggest decisions for ourselves. That’s why religious freedom matters for everyone. Religious freedom matters because the powerful have long wanted to control those who are less powerful. Religious freedom matters because the freedom of those who are different is often threatened by those who believe different is dangerous. Leah Sharibu, a Christian teenager in Nigeria, remains a captive of Boko Haram for her refusal to renounce her Christian faith. Chinese pastor Wang Yi is serving a nine-year sentence for speaking publicly against the Chinese government. In Pakistan, Asif Pervez is on death row for allegedly sending a blasphemous text message. All of this because people in power decided different is dangerous. at the Center for Religious Liberty at Family Research Council. We promote religious freedom for everyone because the only alternative is religious freedom for no one. We encourage Americans and the American government to engage and advocate for the persecuted. And they do. We work every day to bring good news to the afflicted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners. We do it because that’s what Jesus does. We work to give freedom to others because we ourselves have been set free.
SPEAKER 06 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to have you with us today. All right, a new Congress, a new administration, and a new resource for you. Announcing today, the God and Government course that will be coming out beginning on President’s Day. Each week thereafter, we’ll be releasing a new episode of God and Government, but you can get the introduction right now and prepare for it. Go to the Stand Firm app. It’s exclusively on the Stand Firm apps. Go to the App Store and download the Stand Firm app. Our word for today comes from the book of Nahum. The Lord is a jealous and avenging God. The Lord is avenging and wrathful. The Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. You know, this kind of reminds me of the words that Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3. He said, The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Here’s the takeaway. Don’t mistake God’s mercy and patience for acceptance or indifference toward sin. God is merciful and he is patient, but he’s also just. To find out more about our journey through the Bible, text BIBLE to 67742. That’s BIBLE to 67742. Earlier today, Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners, terrorists, as a part of the first phase of the hostage and ceasefire agreement that the Israeli government signed off on at the beginning of the weekend. Now, this came after yesterday’s release of three Israeli hostages by Hamas following 471 days in captivity. Four more hostages are expected to be released this coming Saturday as a part of the six-week-long first phase. Now, at the end of this first phase, only 33 hostages will have been released, while nearly 2,000 Palestinian terrorists will be set free. So what’s the mood like right now in Israel, and how is the Jewish nation feeling about the weeks ahead, and how is the Bibi Netanyahu administration coalition holding up. Joining me now to discuss this live from Jerusalem is Chris Mitchell, Middle East Bureau Chief for CBN News. Chris, thanks for joining us. And again, thanks for staying up late there in Israel. I know it’s almost midnight.
SPEAKER 03 :
It is actually. Yeah, almost. One o’clock here, but great to be with you and such an important historic day for Israel and certainly the United States.
SPEAKER 06 :
We were discussing last week, of course, you were in Israel. I mean, you were in the United States. You just made it back to Israel. What’s the sense there? I know there was a lot of excitement and enthusiasm about the three females that were released yesterday. But I mean, that’s just a token of what remains in captivity. Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s right, Tony. I would describe, and I just arrived back yesterday, and you can almost feel the mood here of what people are feeling. First of all, they’re conflicted because of what’s going on. First of all, the jubilation they have, I think shared by almost all Israelis, that these three young Israeli women, Daron, Emily, and Romy, have been reunited with their families. The video of them with their mothers is just heart-wrenching. that they are finally back after 470 days, 71 days in captivity. So the jubilation is there. The emotion of seeing these families reunited is really profound. On the other hand, Tony, as you mentioned, 90 Palestinian prisoners have been released the same day. And so what Israelis know is that historically these prisoners have gone on to commit terror attacks. In fact, in 2011, there was 1,027 Palestinian prisoners released In exchange for one IDF soldier, his name, net soldier, whose name was Gilad Shalit, many of those 1,027 terrorists went on to commit terror attacks and killed more than 190 people. And, famously, among those prisoners was Yahya Asinwar, who became the head of Hamas and masterminded the October 7 massacre. So there’s really a conflicted feeling about what’s going on here. Israelis rejoice in the three women that have been released, but are sober minded about what’s anticipated with not only the 90 today, but as you said, nearly 2000 eventually through the course of the next six weeks will be released.
SPEAKER 06 :
Chris, what information do we have on the well-being of the three that were released?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, according to the doctors at Sheba Medical Centers, where they were taking, they’re pretty good, which is really surprising after this well more than a year of being in captivity. We’ll find out more as time goes on exactly what happened. during their time of captivity, whether in tunnels or maybe in some homes, and whether or not they were sexually abused, what kind of torture or deprivation they all suffered. But so far, you know, they look good. And you can see from the videos, you know, they’re walking and they’re not debilitated in any way it seems. One of the hostages, I believe Emily, two of her fingers were shot during October 7th when she was kidnapped. But so far they look pretty good, and Israelis are quite excited about that.
SPEAKER 06 :
Chris, there’s this is, as you said, this there’s there’s mixed feelings on this. A lot of concern about the release of terrorists in exchange and how that might further incentivize the taking of hostages. There’s also the concern, although we’ve heard even on this week on the Hill program that I do, the House speaker, we’ve heard Mike Waltz, the. national security advisor to the president, make very clear that Israel has the right to eliminate the threat from Hamas as an entity. Is the Netanyahu coalition government going to be able to hold together?
SPEAKER 03 :
I would think it’s actually been shaken by this more than perhaps even the threats against it by the Biden administration. And what has happened is that one of the coalition members, Ben Gavir, he has a religious party in the coalition. He’s left the government. It leaves about 63 seats left. left in the majority coalition of Benjamin Netanyahu. But another threat is that Bezalel Smoltrich, who is the current finance minister, has said that after the first phase, which goes for 42 days, if Israel doesn’t resume the war, then he would leave. So that puts the Netanyahu coalition government in jeopardy. And if he would leave, then perhaps the government would fall and there’d be new elections. And I would imagine that the Trump administration would rather deal with a Netanyahu government than any of the alternatives on the left side of the political spectrum here in Israel.
SPEAKER 06 :
Is there an expectation that Hamas will not live up to the particulars of this ceasefire? Because that has been the history in the past that they have not kept their part of the deal.
SPEAKER 03 :
I think that’s a lot of people anticipate that that will happen and that they will continue to wage not only warfare, but a psychological warfare against Israel. For example, they delayed the announcement of the three hostages about an hour and a half. And the expectation is they will continue to try to, you know, maybe threaten Israel with these minutiae of the details, but further than that, that the substance of the deal would be violated by Hamas. So there’s an expectation, as you said, historically it has happened, and that they will break the deal, and perhaps Israel can resume the fighting in Gaza. And finally, finish what had been the goals at the very beginning of the war, Tony, which, number one, was to destroy Hamas militarily, two, make sure that it never is able to govern the Gaza Strip again, and third, would free all of the hostages.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, the two war goals that they had going into this was, as you said, to secure the release of all the hostages and to eliminate this threat posed by Hamas. The future of the coalition government led by Benjamin Netanyahu depends on the execution of those two goals and the accomplishment of it, does it not?
SPEAKER 03 :
It does. In fact, in phase two and phase three, this is a three-phase deal, phase two leads to a permanent ceasefire, which would mean the end of the war and that Israel would not fulfill its number one and number two goals. You saw it right after the release of the Israeli women. You saw Hamas members take to the streets and parade, celebrate their victory. So it really does put these war goals long-term for this deal at risk.
SPEAKER 06 :
So they are, Hamas is holding these hostages basically as hostages for the second and third phase of this deal. You know, this, I know there’s been a lot of comparison to the Iran hostage situation when Ronald Reagan came in as president. But all of those hostages were released. We see Hamas holding on to hostages, only releasing a token of those hostages. And it’s going to be very difficult when you get, I think, 16 days into this initial ceasefires when they began or they’re supposed to begin negotiating the next steps. As long as they’re holding hostages, it’s going to be very difficult for Israel going forward.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, that’s right. There is a similarity in the 1980 hostage release, but there’s many differences. And like you said, right now, it’s not all of the hostages being released. It’s sort of a drip, drip, drip. Next Saturday, there’ll be four released, and then the following… Saturday, more until the end of the 42 days, and all 33 hostages will be released. And we don’t even know how many of those will be alive. So there’s a sense among some people here that the first ones that were released were in good health, relatively. And they certainly didn’t want to have Israelis see either dead hostages Israelis come out or very ill hostages come out. So it’s going to be a drip-drip for the next several weeks.
SPEAKER 06 :
So 33 at the end of this 42-day period. The remainder, that would leave roughly about 60 that would still be held.
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s right, and that goes on, and these second and third phases will continue to go on until presumably all of the hostages would release. But also, according to the deal, as we understand it now, the end of the war would happen. So it’s quite the dilemma right now for Prime Minister Netanyahu. There are some calling, and our good friend Amir Sefardi is calling people to pray for these 42 days. And as you were sharing in… early in the program, wonderful message, by the way, prayer makes a difference. And I think for people to be encouraged to pray for Israel, pray for President Trump, to make wise and godly decisions, especially in terms of Israel, Pray for Prime Minister Netanyahu to have the fortitude to do what he needs to do to protect the Jewish people in Israel. And pray for Israel. It says in Isaiah chapter 40, comfort, comfort ye my people. They’re going through excruciating emotional turmoil right now and really a psychological warfare by Hamas against them. So they need prayer to be comforted and what they’re experiencing right now. Something I think in their experience in modern history have never quite gone for it, just to the depth of this emotional turmoil.
SPEAKER 06 :
And you beat me to my last question. I was going to ask you how we need to be praying right now for Israel. But I would also sense, and I was with several elected officials from Israel that were over in DC this week for the various events. There is a there’s a greater awareness, I think, of the spiritual significance among Israelis, even those who do not who are not religious Jews are sensing that God is at work in their land.
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s some of the commentary I’ve been reading or hearing here. People are just perplexed. They’re flummoxed. How can we manage this deal that is so emotionally wrenching and threatens that these threats would remain on its border? And many are concluding it’s God. We have to look to God. Here Orthodox Jews use the name Hashem. So they are looking to God to help during this time. And I think they’re evangelical friends. And I know many are listening to us right now. They’re looking to them to join them in prayer and join them in support and advocate for them during this very, very difficult time in their history.
SPEAKER 06 :
Chris, we’ve got about 45 seconds left. Would you lead us in prayer there from Jerusalem?
SPEAKER 03 :
Sure. Father, we do pray right now for comfort for the Jewish people, for the people of Israel right now as they go through this. ordeal, this excruciating ordeal. We rejoice in the families right now that are reunited. But we also pray for those families that our loved ones are still in captivity. And we pray for them during this time. And we pray for Prime Minister Netanyahu for great godly wisdom that he would hear from heaven during this time, and for President Trump, who has been such a great friend for Israel during his first administration. We pray that he would be as great a friend and even greater during these next four years, and that America would enjoy the promise in Genesis 12 that those that bless Israel will be blessed, and that that promise would bless America. And we ask this in Jesus’ name.
SPEAKER 06 :
Amen. Amen. Chris Mitchell, thank you for praying. Thank you for joining us. And again, thanks for staying up late tonight. Thanks, Tony. And folks, thank you for joining us. And please do pray for Israel. Until next time, I leave you with the encouraging words of the Apostle Paul found in Ephesians 6, where he says, when you’ve done everything you can do, when you’ve prayed, when you’ve prepared, and when you’ve taken your stand, by all means, keep standing.
SPEAKER 08 :
Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council and is entirely listener supported. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information on anything you heard today or to find out how you can partner with us in our ongoing efforts to promote faith, family and freedom, visit TonyPerkins.com.
